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Tuesday, 23 January 2007

Marlborough Mama

These are my feet ... and this is my life in the Marlborough Sounds. Just in case I forget, I've got to say it now and say it loud: I LOVE NEW ZEALAND!! And I hope every parent who has ever dreamed of that elusive perfect family holiday will believe me when I say there could be no better place for it.

Over just one three-day period alone, my girls have fed wild-but-tame eels in a crystal-clear river, petted llamas and a Tibetan yak, bottle-fed a piglet, done doughnuts in a speedboat, groomed a thoroughbred, pruned a tree, drove a Jeep, steered a dinghy, watched the Crocodile Hunter in a luxury home overlooking the sea, marvelled at a friend’s private cactus garden, sipped kiddie cocktails in a hot tub, wore a wetsuit for the first time, clung to their daddy on the back of a jet ski, caught six sharks, ate fish they caught themselves and slept in a windswept cottage without electricity while Auntie Leanne cooked their dinner over an open fire.

Hi Heather! How cool to get a message from a cool young Calgarian! I'll get your email from your mama and you guys can send messages to each other (I;ll have to type and they can dictate!)lotsa loveharps

About the book

For every North American mom who dares forge her own way - when all around are the suburban ideals of keeping up and conforming - there are a zillion others who will consistently say, “I’d love to do this or that but I can’t because of the kids.”

At its heart, this book is about showing parents, particularly those who yearn to travel, that it’s possible to have their cake and eat it too. Because all evidence to the contrary, combining one’s passion for seeing the world with the passion one has for one’s own kids can actually be done. (And it sure beats living with the regret and resentment of having put off one’s own dreams to faithfully toe the modern parent’s sacrificial line.)

About Me

Married to a wild New Zealander and the mother of two divine girls, I am an Elora, Ontario-based travel junkie who unfortunately needs to get a real job from time to time - generally as an editor, columnist and freelance travel writer. Born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario, I got my B.A. from the University of Western Ontario in 1987 and have worked ever since to keep feeding my travel bug. It’s taken me to India and Nepal, Southeast Asia, Egypt and Israel, Europe and the UK, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand, and South Africa and Lesotho. Next stop Central America: two months of backpacking heaven in Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua with the hubby and kids. Bring it on!